4001

SILVER HAIRED LEGISLATURE RESOLUTION NO. 4001

A RESOLUTION urging the Legislature of the State of Kansas to support the expansion of Medicaid in Kansas.

WHEREAS, For the first time, Kansas’ 2021 uninsured rate of 9.2% was higher than the uninsured rate in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Of the nearly 264,000 Kansans who are uninsured, 150,000, including an estimated 16,000 uninsured Kansans aged 60 to 64 years, currently fall into the Medicaid coverage gap by being too young to qualify for Medicare and making too much money to qualify for Medicaid but too little money to afford private insurance; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid expansion would improve health outcomes by reducing the number of uninsured Kansans, improving preventive and primary care access, providing substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling, and reducing the mortality rate; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid expansion would create more than 23,000 new jobs in Kansas; and

WHEREAS, Medicaid expansion would protect access to care, especially in rural areas by decreasing the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and other medical care facilities across the state; and

WHEREAS, If Kansas expanded Medicaid, incentives passed in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 would increase the federal medical assistance percentage for currently enrolled KanCare members by five percentage points for two years; and

WHEREAS, Federal funds would pay for 90% of services provided to the expansion population; and

WHEREAS, Kansas’ continued participation should be contingent upon the continuance of the90% match; and

WHEREAS, Leveraging the federal resources that come with Medicaid expansion is Kansas’ biggest opportunity to finance healthcare reform efforts: Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Silver Haired Legislature of the State of Kansas: That we urge the Legislature of the State of Kansas to support the expansion of Medicaid in Kansas.